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02/09/07--05:54: Friday, February 09, 2007 (chan 1351263)

Hello All,

This week was another good week. It was kinda slow at times and some parts were frustrating, but I can still tell that God is working. We went to a town called Matara that is about an hour away from Antabamba 3 days this week in the mornings. We went to a funeral and just tried to do whatever we could to get a chance to talk to people. And we were able to share the gospel with a couple of people, but no one really seemed interested. I asked one lady while they fed us some soup, if they wanted to hear a Bible study, and she said that we already heard one yesterday, at the Catholic church, and that they did not need to hear another one until next week. So that was dissappointing. But we did get invited to their town meeting on Sunday morning; so please pray that we will get a chance to speak there.

But we also had a really good Bible study with Javier and Zenaida on Thursday. They really get it. They were sharing with us all of the verses that they had looked up about how God does not live in a church building, but that the people are the church. I think they are really close to starting a group. They are looking for people to share with; so that is really encouraging. So please continue to pray for them. Also, they are wanting to be baptized. They were wondering how their children could be baptized since they were not in the Catholic church and I told them that they could do it. But then they said that they had not been baptized either; and they really want to. So also pray for an opportunity where we can do that.

And as always, thank you for your prayers and support. We are both doing well and staying healthy.

In Christ,

Brad




02/16/07--11:47: Friday, February 16, 2007 (chan 1351263)

Hello All,

Well, this week was very good and encouraging.  We were able to get a lot of good things done and we also got to see some awesome results.  First off, thank you for your prayers that we would get to speak at the meeting in Matara.  We did and I think that it went really well.  We shared the Creation to Christ story as a way of presenting te gospel; so about 25 people were able to hear the good news!  A few seemed really interested and we are planning on going back one night this week to try to follow up with them.  This happened Sunday morning; so I was thinking that some of you guys were probably praying as I was speaking; so again thank you for your prayers and support.  And then we left Matara and hiked about 2.5 hours to a town called Huaquirca.  I spent about three days there this past summer and met a school teacher named Quintin Silva.  He was a Christian, but admitted that he was not doing his part of sharing with others in his village.  So we were only able to spend a short amount of time with him, but we tried to teach him what life is really about and that anyone can share the gospel with others, not just a pastor or missionary.  And this trip, about five minutes after we got there, still tired and breathing hard from walking up a mountain for an hour and a half, we met his brother.  He took us to Quintin, and the first thing that he wanted to do was to show us the church!  They had just had a service that morning.  It was very encouraging to see all the work that he has done in only about 6 months.  They have a house they are meeting in now, while they plan on building a bigger building, because he told me that the goal of their church was to see the whole village of Huaquirca come to Christ!  Right now they have about 5 solid believers that meet every Sunday morning.  The only fault that I could find was that he wanted to make a sign that said that I founded the church, since I was there to encourage him this summer.  But we all know who founded the church, and it certainly was not me!  But it was really encouraging to see that God is truly always at work bringing people to Him, and when the light finally comes on, they are ready to go.  So please continue to pray for Quintin and our brothers and sisters in Huaquirca.  We are planing on going back next Sunday for worship, the 25th of Feb., before we head back to Lima.  But like I said in the last update, we may be doing a baptism that same weekend.  What a tough decision, baptize a believer who wantes to start small groups, or go and encourage a new church.  Please pray that we will be able to do both. 

But thank you again for your prayers and support.  God is working and furthering His Kingdom here, even though it seems slow at times.  But really, I can not thank you all enough for your faithful prayers.  They are being answered, and I hope and expect to have many more postive updates.  And I am planning on putting some pictures up or sending them out; so that you guys can see the people that you have been praying for.  So those are hopefully coming soon!

Thank you and God Bless,

Brad

 




02/23/07--06:53: Friday, February 23, 2007 (chan 1351263)

Hello All,

 

We had a another good week in Antabamba. On Thursday we were able to meet with Aldo again and had a good time reading with him.  He is reading through the Old Testament and we finished Genesis yesterday and started Exodus with the birth of Moses.  We told him that God always has a plan to save His people.  With Joseph and with Moses, even though it always does not seem like there is a plan.  God is always in control.  We also talked about the parable of sowing the seed and how it is our job to sow the seed and pray that God will help it fall in good soil.  But it is sad to realize that only 25 percent of the people that hear, will do something with it. We have a lot of work to do.  But he is growing and reading more and more every day.  So please continue to pray for him and his family.  We also got to talk with Javier and Zenaida some more, and we are planning on meeting with them again on Monday before we leave.  Also please continue to lift them up as well.

 

Sunday morning we are planning on going to Huaquirca to worship with the church there; so please be praying that we can be an encouragement to them.  And we are also going to try to encourage them to minister in the town of Matara.  We have gone there about 5 or 6 times and have been able to do a whole lot.  During the day everyone goes to work in the fields, and they don´t trust us enough to let us go with them.  And then when they get back they are mostly drunk and tired and go to bed as soon as it gets dark; so we have been trying to go in the mornings to catch them before they leave.  And we have shared with some people, but they do not seem all that interested.  But there is one family who always talk to us, Marcos and Julia, but they had left for Lima the last time we went.  But the good news is that Quintin Silva, the leader in Huaquirca, knows the town and Marcos.  So we are going to try to encourage him to reach out in Matara as well.  

 

And Tuesday we are planning on leaving for Lima; so please pray for us as we travel.  The bus leaves Antabamba at 3:30 a.m on Tuesday and we should be back in Lima on Wednesday morning around 6:00 am.  But we have had a very good time in Antabamba, and feel like we have been able to encourage the believers here.  And thank you again for your prayers and support.

 

God Bless,

Brad




03/02/07--13:24: Friday, March 02, 2007 (chan 1351263)

Hello All,

Well, we made it back to Lima after 31 hours either in a bus or waiting on a bus, but the bus we finally got on was very comfortable. But we were able to say our goodbyes in Antabamba. I feel that we were able to encourage and also be encouraged by the people there. There is also a family of missionaries from Arizona who has moved to Antabamba to live. They are Menonites, but are very solid and have the same goals as we do; so that is a big blessing for the town. They also work with Javier and Zenaida and they have started a group close to their house to worship on Sunday mornings. It is small, but it is a start. So thanks for your prayers and support and please
continue to lift up Antabamba, Huaquirca, and Matara that God will continue to pour out His spirit and draw
the Quechua Indians there closer to Him.

This week, I am able to relax a little bit. It was weird, after taking a month of cold showers; I was looking forward to getting back to hot water, but now that I am in Lima, I find myself talking cold showers because it is so hot. Ironic, isn't. But it is good to have a short break. And do please be praying for the Naval Academy as they come on the 11th of March. And also for me, as I have the task of leading them. Pray for transportation lodging, and just that God will move in the 4 days that we will be on the field. Transportation is a big one. We are taking public because there will be 13 of us in all, and if a bus or taxi breaks down, or decides not to go one day, that will not be too good, because we only have 4 days. So please be lifting that up. It may sound small, but Satan will use whatever he can to keep people from hearing the wonderful news of Jesus.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support!
God Bless,
Brad


03/02/07--14:25: Friday, March 02, 2007 (chan 1351263)



Javier and Zenaida and their family in Antabamba, with Derek, my partner for the trip and me.

Our brothers and sisters worshipping in Huaquirca!

Bernardo, a man interested in the gospel in the village of Matara.

Taking a break after hiking into a canyon a couple of hours outside of Antabamba.

A tree chopping down party for "Carnivales" in Antabamba.  Don't worry, amazingly the tree did not fall on anyone. 


Hello All,

Well, we made it back to Lima after 31 hours either in a bus or waiting on a bus, but the bus we finally got on was very comfortable.  But we were able to say our goodbyes in Antabamba.  I feel that we were able to encourage and also be encouraged by the people there.  There is also a family of missionaries from Arizona who has moved to Antabamba to live.  They are Menonites, but are very solid and have the same goals as we do; so that is a big blessing for the town.  They also work with Javier and Zenaida and they have started a group close to their house to worship on Sunday mornings.  It is small, but it is a start.  So thanks for your prayers and support and please
continue to lift up Antabamba, Huaquirca, and Matara that God will continue to pour out His spirit and draw
the Quechua Indians there closer to Him.

This week, I am able to relax a little bit.  It was weird, after taking a month of cold showers; I was looking forward to getting back to hot water, but now that I am in Lima, I find myself talking cold showers because it is so hot.  Ironic, isn't.  But it is good to have a short break.  And do please be praying for the Naval Academy as they come on the 11th of March.  And also for me, as I have the task of leading them.  Pray for transportation lodging, and just that God will move in the 4 days that we will be on the field.  Transportation is a big one.  We are taking public because there will be 13 of us in all, and if a bus or taxi breaks down, or decides not to go one day, that
will not be too good, because we only have 4 days.  So please be lifting that up.  It may sound small, but Satan will use whatever he can to keep people from hearing the wonderful news of Jesus. 

Thank you again for all of your prayers and support!
God Bless,
Brad







03/16/07--14:55: Friday, March 16, 2007 (chan 1351263)



A few people in the town of Santa Rosa, watching as we taught in the school.

The class in Santa Rosa as they sang a few praise songs. More singing and playing!

 



One of the translators that went with us translating the gospel into Spanish for the kids and teachers!

Peanut Butter and Bananna Chips, what a meal!

The four Naval students that got to be on my team for the week, resting after almost 2 days of hiking up and down looking for villages.

 

Hello All,

But we did have a good time.  We split up into three teams and all went in different directions.  We were able to find a few villages that the church from Memphis wanted us to, and also were able to do some ministry in the town of Santa Rosa, going into the schools and teaching.  The 4 that went with me, finally found a village called San Luis, and were able to talk to a few people there.  They were interested in the gospel, but not ready to make a decision.  But all in all, the students were able to get a taste of missions, and some said that they are very interested in pursuing missions later in their lives.  Again, thank you for your prayers for us this week.  We did a lot of traveling and had no problems, no one got sick, or too lost to where we could not find our way back. 

Thank you again for your prayers and support!

God Bless,

Brad




04/13/07--07:10: Friday, April 13, 2007 (chan 1351263)

Hello All,

I had a really good week last week.  We were in the village of Pomancanchi with a church group from North Carolina.  We did everything from door to door evangelism to speaking in schools, to having 2 Bible studies.  When me and Derek got there we met with the Christian lady that we knew about, and she was very excited that we had come and wanted to meet with us.  And we met with her on Monday, and then she said that this was too good for it just to be her; so on Tuesday she cancelled a teachers meeting and brought all of her fellow teachers.  And on Tuesday 2 of them received Jesus as their Savior!!!  And a really cool stort to go along with it was that we had met a man named Persy on our first day.  He seemed really interested and wanted to know when we were going to meet to talk about the Bible.  We invited him to a few different times, but he was not able to come.  And we had been praying for him all week, because I felt that God really wanted to save him this last week.  So we asked our Father for Him, and He provided.  He was able to come to the Bible study on Tuesday and I was able to talk to Him for a while and explain that Jesus is the only way to heaven.  Alot of Peruvians, especially in the villages, believe that there are many different ways.  For example, the catholic church and its rituals, the mormons, the Jehovah's Witness, and us too.  So please pray that they will see the only way!  But I was able to explain that the Bible says that it is only by Jesus that we can be saved.  And a few minutes later, I saw on e of the translators and the leader of the group praying with him to recieve Jesus!  And now he wants to help his community see what he now sees.  It was really awesome to be a part of.  And God reminded me that all we need to do is ask.  "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth, in Peru, in America, as it is in heaven."  God wants to be glorified and wants to see people believe in His Son, and we need to be faithful and ask.  And I want to thank you for asking and praying for me as I work here. 

This weekend we are having a team retreat until Sunday, and then I will be leaving on a research trip, but I am not sure where yet.  So please pray that all will go well with that.  Thank you again for all of your help and support and prayer!

God Bless,

Brad

And here are some photos of Pomacanchi.



One of the youth from N.C. and one of our translators teaching the kids.

 

 



The town of Pomacanchi

 



A beautiful lake outside of Pomacanchi where we had our Easter service.

 



A statue of Jesus overlooking Pomacanchi.  I pray that people will truly look to the Son for their Salvation!




04/29/07--12:08: Sunday, April 29, 2007 (chan 1351263)

Hello All,

Last week was pretty good, a lot of hiking, but it went really well. Me and Derek went on a research trip to a place in the state of Lima about 6 hours from Lima city. And we traveled to 5 different villages doing research on how many smaller villages are around in the area. We hiked into 4 of them, and all the hikes were amazing. The heavens and earth really do tell the story of God's greatness. And to one village we were able to ride on the back of a fruit truck. It was a nice break from walking, and kinda reminded me of a hay ride, except there was no hay, lots of potatoes to sit on, but no hay.

But we were also able to meet up with a family from Lima who moved out to the village to start churches. They were really an encouragement. We got a chance to go to 2 Bible studies with them, and it was encouraging to see believers from the villages worshipping. We also went around and visited a few people in their homes. One lady knew of a lady that was sick and she wanted us to pray for her. So we went and told her that God can heal her, but that He also wants to heal and save her soul. So we shared the gospel with her and she accepted Jesus as her savior. And then her husband came in from working, and we shared with him, and he wanted to accept Christ too! And then we explained that it would be through her faith that would heal her as well. And we prayed that God would take away her pain and make her well! But altogether it was a productive and encouraging trip.

And a few prayer requests. Derek is going back to the same region with a college group on May 8th. And I will be going with a church group that has not been to Peru before on Saturday May 5th-11th, I believe are the dates. And then we have about 50 college students coming as summer missionaries on May 22nd. So please begin to pray that they will all get here safely with all of their stuff. I still do not know where I will be spending this summer, but I am pretty sure that it will be a place that I have not been before. Also, I have several friends who have been sick lately. Some in Peru and others in other parts of the world; so please pray that God will protect their bodies from Satan and keep them healthy; so that they can serve our Lord! And thank you again for all of your prayers and support.
God Bless,
Brad



05/14/07--12:35: Monday, May 14, 2007 (chan 1351263)

Hello All,

 

We had a really good trip this last week.  I went with a group from the Charlotte area of North Carolina, and we did research in about 7 villages in the mountains of Lima.  It was a lot of walking, but luckily we got a truck ride the 33 miles up the mountain, and then just had to work our way back down.  And 33 miles may not seem like a long time, but it took us 5 hours in the truck, and then about 3 days to hike back down.  But we were able to get all the information that we needed to get about the area, and hopefully a church will adopt it soon, and start to work more.  It was pretty sad because the only non-catholic influence on the people were the mormons and a small group of Isrealites; so the people there still are almost completely in the dark when it comes to the truth.  But we were able to share the gospel with a few people along the way.  No one accepted, but hopefully with more time God will raise up leaders in Huaochiri. But thank you as always for your prayers and support.  These next two weeks we will be getting ready for the summer missionaries to arive.  They come in on the 22nd of May; so please do be praying for them and that God will use us all this summer as we work in several different mountain villages.  Also, I think the place that I will be this summer is Lampa; so plese be praying for it.  I am still not sure, it is possible that I will not know until a couple of days before I leave.  But thank you again for your prayers and support.

 

God Bless,

Brad

 

 

 



 

 



Taking a little lunch break.

 

 



The team from Lincolnton getting ready to get on the truck.

 

 



And another pic. outside the place we slept.




06/04/07--06:53: Monday, June 04, 2007 (chan 1351263)

Hello All,

I am in the village of Lampa right now. It is in southeastern Peru, and really cold. It was 50 in my rooom one morning when I woke up, but I can honestly say that I like the cold better than the heat. But so far things are going pretty slow. Last Sunday we had a small Bible study with 4 people, and it went pretty well, and we are planning on having the same this week. But other than that, it has been hard to get much going. There are a few solid Christians that we know, but they are really busy, but I hope that we will be able to spend some time with them this summer. But on Friday, we were able to go to another village about 5 miles away from Lampa, and speak in the school. We are planning on going there every week to teach them simple Bible studies.

But do please be praying that God will open up doors for us to start Bible studies here. There is good potential, but the people just don't seem to want to make it a priority. So please pray that God will continue to work and soften their hearts and help them to see that they need Him in the village of Lampa. And some people that you can be praying for are Mr. Mendez, Carlos and his family, Francisco and his family, and Daniel and his family from another village. So far these are the believers that we have met. And as always, thank you so much for your support and prayers.

God Bless,
Brad